Cold Blooded
by MewMidnight
Summary: Kish continues to advance on Ichigo, and she's not having it. When it goes too far Tart intervenes and takes her to the ship, where she gets taken care of by Pai and things just get worse when Kish tries to get her back. Pai x Ichigo/Kish x Ichigo angst.
1. Green Haired Attacker

Description: After Ichigo gets through an assault by Kish, she gets picked up by Tart. On the verge of falling ill from being out in the snow, Pai gets stuck with taking care of her on the ship away from Kish. Ichigo is grateful and starts to confide in the alien, her life is much more complicated than meets the eye. It gets far worse when Kish tries to make up for his mistake.

Rating: T

Couples: Ichigo x Kish, Ichigo x Pai, Zakuro x Keiichiro, Purin x Tart, maybe some Lettuce x Ryou.

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The air around her was dark, snow fell lightly through the orange beams of the street lamps. Her steps crunched quickly on the snowy concrete, red hair bouncing around her head. Her hands pressed tightly into her pocket, clenching her cellphone.

It was a little after midnight, and she was alone. How stupid could she be?

Ichigo shook her head and huffed as she rushed down the sidewalk, this was the last time she walked to Lettuce's house. Next time, she would surely drive.

A sound behind her made her flinch and glance around her, she was so skittish at night. The girl kept walking briskly, her eyes darting around her. She had been visiting Lettuce for the last month fairly regularly since her breakup with Masaya.

Ichigo's parents told her that it wasn't reasonable for her to go to college in England. It was far to expensive, and she already got a scholarship to the largest University in Tokyo.

A small crackle made a shock run up her spine, she whirled around to see who was behind her. There was no one. Ichigo stood still for a few moments, looking around. Her apartment was two blocks away, she was so close. The trees on her right rustled in the gentle breeze, small snowflakes daintily falling around her. There was a sound to her right, her brown eyes shot in the direction of the noise.

A hand clapped over her mouth and someone grabbed her from behind. The girl writhed around and yelped underneath the fingers. Ichigo struggled against the strong person holding her. A familiar scent wafted around her, the person nuzzled her cheek. She knew who this was.

Ichigo struggled against him, lips brushed her cheek.

"Been a while Koneko-chan! You look good."

His voice lingered on the last word, it reeked of lust. The alien's hot breath tickled her neck, but not in a pleasing way. His hand slid off her mouth and down around her neck, sharp nails barely digging into the soft flesh. Deep green hair gently slid against her cheek as he planted a firm kiss on her jawline.

"Kish get off! You scared the shit out of me!"

The alien chuckled and eyed her menacingly,

"But I missed you so much… It's been almost three weeks since I last saw you at the cafe. Where have you been?"

"I've been busy! My life doesn't revolve around you! Now let go!"

Kish roughly pulled her off the sidewalk, dragging her feet behind her and into the forested area beside them. Ichigo struggled as he turned her around and pressed her back into a tree, snow falling from the branches around them.

"Why are you so hostile? You should know better than to be mean to your captor."

Brown eyes glared in his direction, she shook her head and pulled at her now pinned wrists.

"What do you want? I just want to go home, so let me go!"

Kish tilted his head and gave her a phony pout,

"I just wanted to keep you warm on such a snowy night."

"I don't want you to keep me warm. Now get off."

Her demand was bitter and was followed by a glare, the alien wasn't amused. He leaned in close to her face, she was pressed against the tree as hard as she could. Her hair snagged slightly on the rough bark, eyes locked on his lusty amber irises.

The alien angered the girl further by trailing kisses across her cheek, then finally planting a firm kiss on her lips. The girl twisted her head away from him, the alien then made her cry out by biting her upper lip. The girl recoiled as he released her, her hands flew to her now bloody lip. Kish now was glaring at her,

"Even after you lose that pathetic meat sack of a boyfriend you can't just accept me?"

Ichigo shook her head and looked up at him angrily,

"Not when you do shit like this! What's your problem!"

Kish seethed and grabbed her by her white coat, throttling both of them to the ground. The alien held her down on the ground, staring down at her.

"You're a horrible girl Ichigo."

The girl seemed thoroughly shocked by his words, she slowly released her bleeding lip to stare at him. The alien nodded at her,

"You're so cruel to me, the one who loves you more than that piece of shit that you broke up with. I'm an alien so I must not deserve a chance. You're a bad girl, and I should treat you like one."

The girl struggled against him as he leaned in close to her face, cruel eyes staring into the girls. His tone was bitter and full of animosity,

"You afraid yet?"

The girl was at a loss of words, she began struggling harder when his right hand slid up her thigh and across the waist hem of her tight black sweatpants. Ichigo kicked her legs around and pushed at him with her free hand.

"You're a monster! I thought you were different after the final battle! I guess not!"

Kish nodded, a rather evil grin appearing on his face,

"Funny what a broken heart will do to a man."

The girl head-butted him as he leaned in to kiss her once again, earning her a growl from the alien.

"You're not a man, you're a-"

A hand grabbed her mouth and a death glare made her quiet once again. Kish shook his head,

"Don't say it."

…

A young alien flew through low through the snowy sky, he was just above the treetops. A small smile played his face, he had two cups of hot chocolate for he and Purin. The young girl had let him stay with her on Earth after the final fight, and he admitted he enjoyed every minute of it.

Tart wanted to surprise her tonight, since he had been on the ship last night with Pai to do a report. A small shriek caught his attention, his sensitive ears immediately picking up on the direction it came from. The young alien slowed his flight down, looking in the direction it came from, he bit his lip. Should he go look?

Tart groaned and flew over towards the road, and landed on the sidewalk beside it. Big brown eyes glanced around, a struggle behind him caught his attention again. The alien turned and stepped around a bush to see Kish and Ichigo fighting somehow.

Kish was in the process of yanking off her shirt, while her jacket was beside her. Tart stood for a second, and then yelled at the other alien,

"K-Kish what the hell are you doing?"

The green haired alien's head whipped around, bright eyes wide with surprise. Ichigo let out a cry and struggled,

"Tart! Help me! Please!"

The young alien could hear the desperation in her voice, his eyes fell on Kish. The older alien shook his head and pointed up,

"Get out of here Tart. Ichigo needs an attitude adjustment. You weren't here to hear what she said to me."

Tart rolled his eyes and walked forward, the other alien locking eyes with him. The brown haired alien threw one of the cups of hot chocolate into Kish's face, earning a howl from him as he doubled over. Pale hands wiped furiously at his face, trying to get the hot liquid out of his eyes.

Ichigo scurried away and leaned against a tree, panting and shivering. Tart walked over and knelt beside her,

"Are you okay?"

He asked, being cautious, the girl looked like she was on the verge of tears. Ichigo slowly nodded, her whole body shaking. Tart glanced over as Kish moved to get up, looking through one eye.

"Tart- you little shit…"

Kish grumbled, moving to stand up. The small alien turned and put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder,

"Come on-"

…

The two appeared in a dim corridor of some sort, the tall steel walls around them undecorated and gray. The young alien immediately began walking towards a set of large double doors at the end,

"Come here Ichigo. I gotta' tell Pai I brought you here."

Tart still held the one cup of hot chocolate, clenching the fragile cup. He knew Kish was still unstable about Ichigo breaking up with Masaya. Tart didn't know the details, but he could have cared less. Ichigo fought the tears rolling down her cheeks silently, she made no sound. Small fists clenched her own long sleeve pink shirt, her whole body still trembling.

They reached the huge doors, and Tart opened them, a dark room on the other side. The faint glow of computer screens surrounded them as they walked into the small room. A huge office looking chair was in front of them, the girl hesitantly followed Tart.

The chair didn't turn around, but a voice spoke to them,

"What are you doing here Tart? I thought you were going to be with that mew tonight."

The tone was cold and steely, just like this place. Ichigo swallowed hard, the knot in her throat getting tighter as she fought the tears.

"Kish attacked Ichigo, so I'm bringing her here to leave her with you."

It was quiet for a few moments, the chair turned around slowly. Ichigo stared quietly at the oldest alien, his narrow eyes dark in this room.

"He _attacked_ her?"

Tart nodded and shifted his weight, motioning towards her,

"I think I should leave her here tonight so Kish doesn't try anything else. He knows where she lives and all…"

The alien trailed off, his last statement making Ichigo look over at him in surprise. Her mouth fell open slightly, but she couldn't make words with how much her throat ached from fighting the oncoming sobs. Pai's eyes were locked on Ichigo, no real expression on his face. A deep breath filled his lungs, he knew this was the best option for the girl.

Kish had tried letting go, but his heart broke slowly and painfully, driving him crazier each day. Pai knew his cousin meant her no harm, but he let his emotions get the best of him.

"All right."

Ichigo's eyes had fallen to the steel floor, she couldn't fight the tears anymore. Tart looked back at her casually, and then frowned seeing her so upset. Ichigo clenched her shirt sleeves tighter and she forced a smile,

"Th-Thank you Tart… I…I r-really appreciate it."

The end of her statement seemed rushed as she took a sharp breath in, her hand flying to her mouth to stop herself from sobbing aloud. Tart's eyes flew to the older alien now standing beside him, a slight raise of Pai's eyebrows showed he did understand the gravity of the situation.

It was stark still for a moment, the younger alien sighed and patted Ichigo on the back.

"Don't worry hag, Pai will take care of you and all that good crap."

His snarky comment made her feel slightly relieved as he teleported out of sight. The tall alien walked up to her, the girl breathed in shaky gasps, her eyes locked on his shirt. She didn't want him to see her like this, she was such a mess now. Her mascara ran under her eyes and she was trembling horribly still.

A hand reached out and touched her neck, the girl's eyes shot up into his darker ones. Pai shook his head, his tone calming,

"Be at ease, I'm just seeing if you have a fever. You may fall ill if you don't get warm. Come with me."

The tall alien led her down corridors, and into a smaller set of double steel doors. The girl walked in, one wall was all glass, showing the space surrounding the ship and all the thousands of stars around them. While she was gawking out the window to space, the alien opened a small closet and pulled out two microfiber blankets.

Ichigo then realized that there was a rather large bed to her left, and on the right there was a door to a bathroom, and a smaller door to the closet Pai was digging in. The alien walked over to her with the blankets,

"They are not heated, but this will have to do."

When Ichigo opened her hands to grab the blanket, her knuckles ached. The frigid snow she had fallen in made her hands terribly cold. Pai noticed her discomfort and glanced over at the bed,

"Go sit down."

The red head complied and walked over and sat down on the bed, the alien draped the two blankets around the girls shoulders. Ichigo clasped her hands together tightly, they were numb. Pai stood for a moment, thinking to himself. Her hands potentially could suffer minor nerve damage being exposed to the snow like that. He had to fix this, and he should heat up some warm water.

The tall alien walked over into the bathroom and began running water into a small pan like container. Ichigo moved her hands against each other, and looked out into the starry scene behind her. It was beautiful, but so cold on the ship. But she wasn't sure if it was her being in the snow, or the ship. The soft glow of light from the bathroom lit the room gently, Pai's shadow dancing on the steel floor in front of the bed.

Ichigo spoke softly to him,

"Th-thank you Pai."

The girl wasn't sure if he had heard her small thank you, her big brown eyes rested on his back as he turned off the water and then turned towards her. Ichigo swallowed hard, her lip hurt as well. Pai placed the pan on the ground beside the bed, and Ichigo immediately took off her boots and socks and put her feet in the steamy water. She smiled, her cheeks tight from the dried tears. Pai leaned down in front of her and tilted up her face, looking at her bitten lip. Ichigo stared into his eyes, looking for a reaction. There was nothing but solid stone, she couldn't tell what he was thinking at all.

She then felt silly, having Pai of all people taking care of her. Ichigo shifted her weight and gently moved her head away from his hand, causing him to stand upright again.

"It's fine… It doesn't hurt that much. You've done enough for me. Thank you…"

Ichigo trailed off and looked down, she just wanted to curl up and cry. Kish was so aggressive now, she wasn't sure why he had gotten like this. Ichigo felt guilty, she needed to talk to him. Pai sat down on the edge of the bed, she slowly looked over at him, a weak smile on her face. The violet haired alien motioned towards her hands that were quivering in her lap.

"Your hands- do they hurt?"

Ichigo shook her head and tilted it, looking down at her pale hands,

"N-not really, only if I open them. They're pretty numb…"

A tinge of shock ran up her spine when the alien held his hands out to her, she turned and looked at him, confused. Pai nodded at her, a casually serious expression on his face. Her face grew hot as she turned towards him slightly, allowing him to hold her hands. Her hands were glassed together, and his were around hers like a shell. Ichigo felt a blush on her cheeks, she looked down away from him, hoping he didn't notice. Pai's hands were long and thin, and wrapped around her dainty ones easily.

Ichigo hesitantly looked back up, at their entwined hands first, then his face. Pai's expression seemed unemotional, nothing seemed to be strange to him. His skin was warm against hers, it felt good on her sore knuckles. Ichigo found herself starting to smile dumbly,

"Y-you're really warm."

As soon as she said it, she mentally kicked herself. What was she doing? Was this her pathetic attempt at small talk with the alien?

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MewMid: I can't stay away from Pai x Ichigo/Kish x Ichigo angst. Omg shoot me. Ha! Don't tell me how weird it is, I'm already aware. Thank you anyway dears. :]

R and R! Hate it? Love it? Got a suggestion?

Just tell me what you think. :]


	2. Confidant

Description: Ichigo starts to feel better, but is hesitant to go back to Earth and risk running into Kish. He happens to come find her, and confront her. A small heart to heart with Pai gives Ichigo the motivation for a new 'mission'.

Rating: T

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"Your hands are really warm…"

A huge mental kick was delivered after she said those words. Ichigo felt herself sink a bit, she felt so stupid for saying such a comment to him. Pai was a really intelligent guy, she must look like such a child now. The alien's dark eyes looked over at the girl, her eyes down on their clasped hands.

"Your body temperature is below normal, so you would feel as though my hands are far warmer. It's normal."

The red head kept her mouth shut, she swore she was born a dumb blond. Ichigo still felt embarrassed about having the alien hold her hands, he was so gentle. She had been used to fighting Pai and being on the defense whenever he was around, but this was a side she hadn't seen. After a few moments, Pai realized her body was still trembling, and her hands were still pretty frigid. Pai released her hands and looked in her eyes as she glanced up at him curiously. He motioned at his neck with both of his hands, making a clasping motion around his own neck,

"Put your hands like this, right here. It will be warmest because the blood flow is close to the surface of your skin here in your arteries."

A light nervous feeling crawled over her as she slowly reached out and put her hands gently on his neck. This was strange to her, but he was right, his neck was far warmer than his hands. Pai seemed taken aback, staring at her with a bit of a confused expression.

"I meant on yourself…"

His words were quiet, and almost sarcastic.

Her face changed to a cherry red as she slowly pulled her hands back, her body felt more than warm enough now. Ichigo mad an inaudible sound as she sat back away from him, looking to the side awkwardly. How could she have been so dumb? Again! Her heart raced in her chest as she struggled with the thoughts of how ridiculous she looks now. The alien then stood up and adjusted the neck collar of his shirt a bit. The red head's face now matched her hair, her eyes on the back of his head as he walked to the bathroom. Pai fetched her a towel and placed it on the bed next to her and looked down at her,

"Use this to dry your feet, and try to get some rest. I'm sure you're warm enough now."

His words seemed to trail off, and his eyes did something she had never seen before. Ichigo started cooling off as he turned away from her, his expression still stuck in her head. When he looked at her that last time, it was as though he was smiling at her, but with just his eyes. Pai was rather handsome when he smiled with his eyes. The girl shook the strange thoughts and dried her feet off. Ichigo proceeded to curl up in the large bed and snuggled in, she was exhausted.

Although she didn't expect to get a good nights sleep, she dozed off almost immediately.

…

When her brown eyes opened in the morning, she could hear the sound of distant voices behind her. The girl stared out into the large fiber glass window into the stars. She couldn't tell if it was morning or not, it always looked like night time here in space.

The sound of the voices made her sit upright quickly, turning to look at the door. Ichigo sat quietly for a moment, trying to figure out who it was. She couldn't tell on the other side of the thick steel walls, it was too stifled. The girl jumped out of the bed and darted over to the bathroom, fixing herself up a bit in the mirror. She felt like she looked horrible, but hey, she wasn't trying to impress anyone.

The cold steel floor put a real bounce in her step, now that her shoes were off and she was warm again. Ichigo approached the double steel doors and they opened immediately. Her head poked around the corner, looking towards the source of the voices. Not fifteen feet away from her was Kish and Pai, standing and talking together. Both of the aliens turned their heads and looked at her, but Pai turned back to Kish, a hard glare on his face. The green haired alien had a rather stern expression on his face, it was unlike him. The taller alien shifted his weight, their sides were to the mew. Ichigo felt her heart sink when Kish turned towards her completely and started to approach her.

Pai slid his hands into his pockets and looked at her, he seemed content. A slight nod of his head made her feel a little better as the younger alien approached her. Kish stared at her, the stern look still on his face,

"Can I talk to you?"

Ichigo stood there dumbfounded for a few moments. She hesitantly nodded, still afraid in her gut about being alone with him. Pai stood quietly as the alien followed her into the room. His dark eyes fell on the ground, knowing what Kish was going to tell her.

As they walked in, the doors remained open behind them, making her more comfortable knowing Pai was outside. Kish startled her by telling her to sit down, she complied reluctantly, looking up at him. Kish remained standing, his arms crossed on his chest. His expression then started to soften,

"Ichigo.. I'm sorry about yesterday. I'm not sure what came over me…. I've just… been feeling bitter about everything lately."

Ichigo felt almost offended at how haphazard his apology was. He mumbled through the rest of it and didn't look her in the eyes. The red head had new found courage now that she was rested and stood up, making him look right at her.

"That was a terrible apology. Kish I know what I put you through, and I'm sorry for that. But you attacked me, I don't know how far things would have gone if Tart hadn't showed up. You know how scary that is for a girl?"

Her voice seemed to escalate as she continued, the alien didn't really have much of a reaction on his face. The angry red head threw her arms up,

"What do you have to say!"

Kish seemed to look passed her, avoiding her angry brown eyes,

"I said I was sorry… I…" His eyes moved back to hers hesitantly, "-I wouldn't have done anything to really hurt you."

Ichigo scoffed and pointed at her lip,

"You ripped my upper lip open, threw me on the ground, I almost got freaking hypothermia from laying in the snow. It's not okay Kish!"

The alien seemed suddenly down hearted, she felt only slightly guilty. Ichigo was still fuming, not ready to feel bad for tearing him a new one. Outside, Pai leaned quietly against the wall beside the door, listening. The tall alien's eyes were on the steel floor, these two were a mess when they were around each other.

"Ichigo I'm sorry! I don't know what else you want me to tell you! I was just mad, I wasn't going to actually do anything."

"You say that…"

She spat viciously, glaring at him now. The words had come out like venom, his eyes fell again and he reached out to grab her hand. Ichigo yanked back away from him and backed against the bed as far as she could go,

"Don't touch me Kish…"

Her words seemed more sad this time, almost bittersweet. The alien felt his heart sink, he nodded, swallowing hard. Slowly, he turned away from her and walked out into the steel corridor. Pai stood upright and looked at him as the sheepish cousin of his walked out,

"Kish-"

"Don't worry about it. I'll figure something out. I'll stay on Earth."

Pai sighed and stepped towards the younger alien,

"Kish, it's for the best."

Kish then seemed very offended and turned his head, glaring at the tall alien. The green haired alien snapped at the older alien,

"Shut the hell up Pai, you don't know shit about caring for anyone but your damn self. Keep her here, I don't give a shit. I'll be with Pyro."

The shorter alien then teleported out of sight, leaving the other two in silence. Ichigo had her hand over her mouth, she felt herself ache to cry once more. She turned away from the door and collapsed on the bed, stifling her cries in her hands. Pai stepped into the doorway, looking over at the miserable girl. He also pitied their childhood friend Pyro for having to deal with Kish once he got there. After a few moments of stagnant quiet between them, Pai finally spoke,

"I thought it was appropriate he apologized. I apologize for how out of hand this has gotten. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need."

Ichigo waved her hand frantically, sobbing heavily into her left hand. The wave was for him to leave her alone, the alien complied and exited the room. The steel doors slamming shut behind him, leaving her alone.

…

A couple hours later…

The corridors seemed to go on forever as Ichigo walked through them. She thought she found Pai's room, but he wasn't in it. Ichigo frowned as she rounded another corner, being lost on an alien ship sucked. The girl had her socks on to protect her from the frigid steel floor. Ichigo saw a pair of huge steel doors, but these were different, they were painted white. The red head approached the huge doors, they slowly opened as she approached it. Behind it, was a large blindingly white room, with lots of counter tops and glassware.

A familiar tall alien approached her, a large white lab coat and glasses on his face. Pai also had a small medical mask on the lower part of his face, she felt like she shouldn't enter the room. She smiled at him kindly,

"Hey… Can I talk with you?"

The alien nodded and then turned back and took off his protective gear and placed it on an empty counter top. The girl waited patiently for him to come out, thinking to herself quietly. After the little spat this morning, she felt guilty for shooing him away, and wanted to see if they could talk. Ichigo needed advice from an intelligent person most of all, and Pai would have helpful insight. The tall alien came out of the lab and the two began walking slowly down the corridor together.

"I'm not sure where to start…. but… I'm sorry about this morning. I know you only meant to help. I didn't mean to be such a brat…"

Pai seemed unfazed by her apology, he nodded and kept his eyes ahead of them.

"I understand. Acting out while upset or angry is perfectly normal."

The red head then felt curious about why he was so cold. Pai seemed as though he didn't care about a thing, and Kish had called him out about it this morning. The curious mew looked up at him as they walked,

"Why do you… I don't know how to put this really… make yourself so… distant?"

The violet haired alien sighed and slid his hands into his pockets as they walked,

"Emotions are trivial and only end in negative outcomes. It doesn't make sense to have such things when I'm a scientist."

Ichigo shrugged and looked down at the ground in front of her,

"I don't think so. I think love is the most powerful and wonderful thing to feel…"

She trailed off and the two walked quietly for a few moments, the steps of their feet the only sound. Ichigo then interrupted the quiet and smiled up at him,

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"I'm not uncomfortable. Perhaps when you held my neck I was, but not now."

Ichigo almost snorted, and giggled at him. Whether he meant it as a joke or not she thought it was funny, she awkwardly shifted her weight as she walked along. The mew still felt dumb for that, she hadn't thought that through at all either. She took a deep breath and stopped walking, causing him to stop and look over at her,

"You…Uh… want to eat? Haha! I'm kind of hungry."

Ichigo said with a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. The alien nodded slowly and looked down at her,

"Would you like to go to Earth? Or would you rather remain here on the ship?"

Now that she was feeling a bit braver, she decided she wanted to go to Earth and have food there. There was no telling what the aliens ate up here. Her eyes were wide and glassy as she stared up at him,

"Mind if we grab some food on Earth?"

…

The two ended up at a small deli in Osaka, since Pai could teleport them anywhere, why not go out of town?

After they had ordered, it was sort of quiet between them. Ichigo felt like it was awkward between them while in silence,

"So Pai…Where are you from exactly? Like… Do you have family?"

The alien seemed unresponsive with his facial features,

"Yes. Tart and Kish are my cousins as I mentioned before. Our parents died in combat with another alien race long ago when we were just children. An old family friend high up in the ranks took us in. We grew up, joined Deep Blue's army, and now here we are."

It was simple, but absolutely tragic to the mew. Her right hand was now over her mouth, as if she had seriously offended him. With a shake of her head she spoke softly,

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bring up anything bad."

Pai shrugged and looked off to the side,

"It's really not an issue for me. Don't fret."

The girl still seemed bothered by the conversation. Ichigo felt like it was an epiphany for her, this was the reason Pai was like this. He must have had to take care of Kish and Tart and deal with them since they were young children. It must have taken a lot out of him. She had to change the topic. Anything would be better than this.

"Oh- Okay. Well, what about girlfriends? I know about Kish and Tart, but how about you?"

A twinge of nervous energy rushed up her spine, this was probably not a good topic either. Dark steely eyes shifted back to her,

"I've had them, yes. But nothing worth mentioning, and I've got no relationship currently. No reason for it."

Ichigo frowned and tilted her head,

"You've got to get lonely sometime, come on! Ever been in love?"

Her last sentence was laced with a dreamy tone, as if she remembered when she and Masaya were still together and in love. The alien took a deep breath and sat back against the chair,

"It''s not worth mentioning, I'm well aware I'm not capable of openly loving another creature entirely. "

"It is worth mentioning! You already know my story pretty much, come on! Please tell me?"

Ichigo knew she was being nosy, but her curiosity was getting the best of her. None of the other girls knew this stuff about him, why couldn't she be the first? Besides, it would be good for him to open up to someone. In her opinion anyway.

Pai seemed slightly bothered, he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. His eyes fell back to the table, as if he were trying to recall something forgotten. His tone remained stoic and numb,

"I had a lover back home, before the planet froze. She and I were together for… well, in your time measurement it would be approximately three years. I cared for her more than I should have I suppose."

Ichigo felt entranced by his tale, like she was the first person he had ever told. The cat girl was on the edge of her seat, looking as his indifferent facade,

"What do you mean 'more than you should have'? That doesn't make sense."

"I lost her when her family introduced her to a more suitable partner. They wanted her to have bond with him-"

She interrupted him, looking at him with a questioning expression,

"bond?"

Pai nodded and shifted a bit more in the chair,

"It's our equivalent to your 'marriage'. Her family convinced her that he was a far better partner choice, and she agreed."

The red head cooed and frowned,

"I'm so sorry, that must have been really hard."

Pai was silent for a couple moments, his eyes off in the distance. Ichigo felt special, but also a bit guilty for bringing up another sensitive topic. The girl hesitantly asked another question,

"What was she like?"

The alien seemed unfazed by her question, looking back at her. Pai's indifference made Ichigo that much more curious,

"She had long silvery hair, with a light pink tint to it. Her eyes were a light gray color, she was about your height, if not shorter. She was… kind."

The alien's last few words seemed to trail off. Ichigo smiled at him comfortingly,

"I'm sorry you lost her. But you know, it probably means you'll meet someone way better in the future!"

Pai looked passed her again quickly, the waiter approaching with their food. The mew thought to herself for a few moments as the food was placed on the table. Never in a million years would she have thought she'd be eating with Pai, the coldest alien she had ever met. He didn't seem bothered by much, and was so calm all the time. The air of mystery surrounding this alien made her want to know more.

Her eyes fell on her sandwich as she took half of it and had a bite. There was no reason she couldn't be the one Pai opened up to. In a way, it made her special she thought. Not that she was trying to impress everyone. Pai seemed like he rarely opened up, and never to a woman probably. Ichigo smiled inwardly, of all people who deserved a confidant, it was him.

Things were peaceful now, he was kinder than she had thought. The girl's warm brown eyes looked up at the distracted alien, taking in all of his features. Ichigo felt devious a bit, she could try to introduce him to some girls or something. Ichigo felt like it was a small mission she could take on just for the fun of it.

With all these thoughts distracting the lead mew, she didn't even think of what the green haired alien could be thinking or doing now. Kish was out, and planning something big.

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MewMid: I know this chapter was a bit slow, but the next one will be crazy! Silly Ichigo, doesn't she know green haired pervert aliens never give up?

R and R please! Any feedback would be appreciated!


	3. Last Night

Description: Even though Ichigo feels safer, she decides to stay on Pai's ship one last night. Kish's new plan gets set in motion and Ichigo's troubles have just begun.

Rating: T

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Ichigo ruffled a soft towel through her wet hair as soon as she jumped out of the shower and got dressed. The humid air billowed out of the small bathroom when she opened the door. It wasn't very late, and Ichigo found herself to not be as sleepy as she had hoped- despite her stressful day.

A deep sigh filled her lungs, and she made her way out of her room and into the ship. She had somewhat figured out the layout, finally.

The ship was always too chilly, her soft white pajama bottoms didn't protect her much from the cool air. She tiptoed through the corridors until she found Pai's room. The door was open, and it was dark in his room except for the soft glow of a computer screen. His silhouette was all she could see in the darkness, he turned his head when he heard her footsteps.

The red head's voice was timid when she first called out to him,

"Hey, you're still up?"

The alien nodded and turned around in the chair,

"Indeed."

The girl walked right up to him with a small smile playing her lips,

"What are you gonna do for the rest of the night?"

Her question seemed pointed to him, like she had something in mind. Pai leaned back in the chair, putting his hands together in front of him,

"It seems you have something in mind."

"Well…"

The girl shifted her weight and rubbed her hands together as she finished her statement,

"We could curl up and watch a movie! You wanna do that?"

The alien seemed a bit uncomfortable with the idea, he wasn't one for leisurely activities like this. He shifted his gaze from her to his lap and back, obviously contemplating her offer. As he opened his mouth to respond, Ichigo reached out and grabbed his wrist and tugged on it,

"Come on Pai, you never just chill out and have fun."

Ichigo knew full well that she was being pushy. She wanted to get Pai out of his comfort zone, and bring him out of his shell for a little bit. He had already opened up to her a little, and seeing how he was once he was more comfortable was fascinating. Now that he had piqued her curiosity, she was going to see how far she could take it. The girl wanted to help Pai come out of that shell and see what he was really like.

The alien reluctantly stood up, obviously in thought as to what they were going to do.

"I suppose… We can go to the bunker-as Kish and Taruto call it."

A cheesy smile spread across her face and she stepped aside,

"Lead the way!"

…

Once they made their way across the ship, they finally arrived at the bunker. The 'bunker', as Pai called it, was just what she pictured when she thought of the name. It was a round room, and had a half circle sofa in the middle with a projector creating a hologram screen in front of the couch. It was all darker colored, and it was lowered a few steps into the floor, with the window behind the couch showing off the beautiful view of space.

Ichigo cooed and darted over, hopping right on the couch and snatching up the blanket on the back.

Her actions puzzled Pai, she seemed so at ease now, so comfortable. She didn't seem to be terrified to be on the ship, could it be because he opened up to her somewhat? If she knew some personal information about him, did this make her feel safer? The alien wasn't sure quite what to make of her, it baffled him that she would suddenly take such an interest in him.

"What do you want to watch?"

Her perky question made him snap back to reality and realize he was standing awkwardly beside the couch. The alien looked at the blank screen and pondered if they had anything from the human world to even play for her. He held up a finger to her to tell her to wait as he moved behind the sofa to the pile of DVD cases that Tart had collected to watch in his spare time. After sifting through a few cases, he had no idea what to make of any of them and simply handed her a handful of them.

"Well this one is sad…I saw that recently…maybe this one?"

Ichigo said as she handed a case out to him, he glanced at the cover and nodded silently as he put it in the player. The movie was called "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", it was a horror movie of some kind. After inserting the movie, Pai sat on the sofa an entire cushion away from Ichigo.

The movie picked up quickly, and to was easy to see that the girl beside him was frightened. She had the blanket pulled up to her nose and her eyes were wide, glued to the screen. Pai was not impressed by the effects in the movie, and predicted the annihilation of the characters for being so naive. The alien also realized that Ichigo had somehow made her way across the sofa and was now sitting directly beside him. Her small hands startled him when she grabbed his upper arm and hid her face behind his shoulder.

His body tensed up when she grabbed him, the contact made him feel troubled. This girl was getting close to him, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. As the movie was coming to an end, she had stopped reacting to the jumpier parts of the film, and he took notice. Her grip had loosened on his arm and he glanced down nonchalantly to find that she had dozed off. A deep breath filled his lungs and he blinked a few times, just staring. Now what?

The violet haired alien shifted slightly, and her weight just went with him and she leaned against his shoulder. The lead mew looked so peaceful when she was asleep. He was so used to seeing her fighting and defending herself against Kish. It was somewhat nice to see her so calm and at ease. She really needed it, especially after the week she had been having. Kish was just being unreasonable about her not having feelings for him, and was just making the situation worse. Pai knew this girl didn't deserve the attack she had suffered. Remembering the attack- he glanced down to her lip that had a scratch on it from where she had been bitten.

The small scratch was almost healed, but her lips made him twist a little in his seat. Her lips were a perfect shade of pink, that much he could see, even in the dim light. Little lips, dainty looking, like a feather. Pai shook his head and looked back up to the screen, he couldn't think these things. Not now. He couldn't be interested in someone like her. Just because they were no longer enemies, didn't mean that meant she had room in her life for someone like him. He wasn't a touchy feely sort of guy anyway. Pai wasn't sure what he liked about this girl, but opening up to her- made him feel somewhat cared about.

No one cared what happened to him, or what he was doing. He didn't feel like he needed any special attention, but it was a nice change of pace to have someone take an interest in his life. When the credits began to roll on screen, it made him realize he had to do something. He had to move her or wake her up.

He turned his head back down to look at her, and she shifted about, snuggling into his shoulder muscle. He wasn't really sure how they had gotten here, especially from their former relationship as enemies. The warmth of her cuddling almost felt…good?

The credits were almost over now, and he knew he had to stop this. Ichigo befriended him, he was looking way too hard into this new found friendship.

The girl stirred in her sleep, lazily lifting her head and sitting up slowly. Her eyes were only half open as she looked around the dark room.

"I missed the end huh?"

The alien stood up and corrected his shirt, the girl grudgingly followed suit. The red head groaned as she followed Pai out into the hall, he walked slowly for her to keep up. She grumbled as they walked,

"Sorry if I fell asleep on you..I do that sometimes."

"Not a problem."

He wasn't quite sure what to tell her, but he walked with her down to her own doorway, so she wouldn't get lost. The mew yawned and stretched when they reached her doorway,

"Thanks for watching it with me, you're actually a lot of fun."

As she finished her statement, she shocked him by gently reaching out and pulling him into a hug. Pai became frigid and held his breath as she pulled him close, her warmth coming through his shirt. Her forehead was against his chest, he could smell roses on her. After his admiration of her scent, he hesitantly returned the gesture; lightly placing his arms around her. The girl chuckled lightly and leaned her head back to look up at him,

"Sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable."

She half mumbled her sentence, and the alien released her so she could stand up straight and look up at him. He hesitated- just for a moment- in his response,

"You didn't."

After giving him a warm smile, the mew turned and walked back into her dim room. The tall alien stood still for a moment and watched her scoot over to her bed and collapse onto the mess of blankets. He then turned on his heel, and walked off into the dark corridors without another word.

…

A groan escaped his throat as he lifted a messy head out of the pillow. A pile of dark green hair stuck out every which direction, gold eyes scanned around the room. A deep throbbing pain pounded at his forehead and temples. Everything was blurry, and a familiar voice spoke to him. It sounded garbled at first, Kish rolled off his stomach and on to his side. The sofa creaked under his weight and he blinked a few times to make out the figure of a red haired alien in front of him.

"Yeah, hello Kish. Good morning! Jeez get the hell up."

The aliens sarcasm earned him a groan from Kish. The golden eyed alien sat up slowly and rubbed the pounding side of his head,

"I feel awful, what happened?"

"You drank yourself into a stupor last night after you got back here. The whole time you were babbling about some girl you love and how you can't believe she wont want you."

The red headed alien stared at his friend, waiting for a response. Kish grumbled again and looked over at him,

"I need to go talk to her."

Pyro huffed and shook his head, sliding his hands into his pockets. He had been friends with Kish for a long time, and he hadn't seen him so distraught over a women before. He'd like to think he knew Kish pretty well, and they were constantly told they were 'twins' without looking identical. His hair was a vibrant, stop-light color red; and his eyes were a royal purple. His hair was spiky, frayed all over the place with one short hair band on the right side of his face. Kish and Pyro were very similar in personality, making them seem like brothers to those around them. Pyro wouldn't admit it, but he had a bit more of a temper than Kish did, he wasn't a very patient guy.

Rocking back on his heels, Pyro shrugged and looked around the room; as if looking for his thoughts.

"I think that's a bad idea…you were a mess last night dude. Maybe you should let me talk to her, see whats up."

Kish stood up and stretched his shoulders in a circular motion, keeping his eyes on his childhood friend.

"You gonna talk to her for me?"

…

A deep breath of sugary sweets filled her lungs as she entered the cafe for the first time in a few days. Pai had dropped her off at her apartment about an hour earlier because she knew she had to get back to work. It had been a few days since the incident, and Ichigo was no longer really worried about Kish. Hopefully he had cooled off and was getting his own life together.

Purin and Lettuce were happy to see her, Zakuro wasn't there, and Mint waved haphazardly at her as she came through the main thoroughfare of the cafe. The lead mew ignored her comrade's lackluster greeting and got to work. The first couple hours seemed to fly by, but then she got stuck with the terrible job of trash duty.

As the cat girl struggled to yank the garbage bags through the back of the kitchen and out the service door, she did not notice the presence waiting for her behind the cafe. She cursed under her breath as she yanked on the three heavy trash bags full of leftovers. The white bags crumpled as she pulled them off the small staircase, not realizing there were a pair of eyes staring her down. With a frustrated huff, she released the bags and tossed open the dumpster lid.

"That shit looks heavy."

The sudden voice made her help and trip over the trash bags as she recoiled from the shock. The girl whirled around onto her rear and whipped her head in the direction of the voice.

An unfamiliar alien.

"Can I help you?!"

She practically yelled, craning her neck forward at him with a flustered expression on her face. The red haired alien chuckled and pulled his hands out of his pockets, holding his hands up like he was surrendering. The cheesy grin on his face didn't falter as he spoke to her,

"Chill out kitty cat, I am just here to talk!"

Ichigo kept her eyes on him as she stood up, brushing off any leaves or dirt on her cafe uniform. The girl still felt nervous as she stood upright,

"About what?"

Her tone was stern, she didn't like this guy just appearing like this to her. Pyro pulled a hand from his pocket to run it through his mess of hair as he responded to her question,

"Well I just wanted to talk to you about Kish."

His words trailed off when she took in the information and her expression darkened to one of slight anger. He was visibly taken back by her sudden change in demeanor, she rolled her eyes and continued what she had been doing. The girl struggled with the trash bags, and he instinctively jumped over, helping her dump them in the dumpster. Ichigo turned and took a few steps back from him, creating a small bit of distance. Her eyes were locked on him like she was a predator eyeing prey. She wanted to show no weakness, no sign of being frail.

The alien struggled to find words and chuckled awkwardly as he did so,

"I uh… Well Kish sent me here, because he wants to talk to you, but knows you don't really want to see him. Sooo he kind of sent me to talk with you."

"Look, I don't even know you, but you can tell Kish I'm not interested in talking to him. I want some time to myself, and the way he treated me was unbelievable."

Pyro sighed and gave her a pleading look,

"Just talk to him! Kish is a good guy, I've been friends with him almost my whole life!"

The lead mew scoffed and walked over to the service door and looked back over her shoulder at him.

"I don't care how long you've been friends with him- or how 'good' you think he is. He attacked me, and…it was so different, it was truly scary for me. I wont give anyone the chance to do that to me again."

Pyro's expression became really serious and he shifted his weight, putting his hands back in his pocket. There was silence between them as they locked eyes, it became rather tense after a few moments. His voice was low, and almost had a hint of threat in his tone,

"Don't do this…Just let him show you what you mean to him. You broke his heart."

Ichigo narrowed her eyes at him, not intimidated in the least;

"I know that better than anyone, and he is just going to have to let me go."

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MewMid: I was just re-reading some of my stories, and realized that I still love all these ideas, and I need to update! Please let me know what you think!

Please R and R my dear!


	4. Desperate Attempt

Description: Ichigo stays on Earth and is suspicious of how little alien contact she has had. She finally has Taruto check on Pai for her, and it sparks his curiosity. Kish finally decides to make his move, and it's a truly desperate one.

Rating: T

MewMid: Yep… Months pass by and I'm still alive. Police academy is tough, I have little spare time… But I still love writing! I'm gonna go through and start updating! Slowly but surely! Enjoy!

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It had been a week and a half. Over a week since she had come back to Earth, and she hadn't seen any aliens around the cafe. School was about to start up again after winter break, the snow as beginning to melt too. It was the end of the day at the Cafe, the girls were cleaning tables and getting the cafe ready for the following morning.

Mint and Zakuro had already taken off, both of them had to leave early for more important matters. The only sound in the dim light was the jolly humming from the chef in the kitchen.

The lead mew swept the main room, Lettuce was in the back helping with dishes, and Purin was bouncing around cleaning tables. Ichigo was deep in thought, she had finally let go of some of the anger she had towards Kish. It wasn't worth holding onto, he was just lashing out at her because he was hurt. But it doesn't mean she would forgive him for what had happened between the two of them. Thoughts of Kish brought on the thought of her few days with Pai, and how he had opened up to her slightly. She hadn't seen him since he had dropped her off, and she couldn't help but wonder how he was doing. He had just dropped everything to take care of her, and now she hasn't even seen him.

A creak from the entrance doors made her glance over, and a small spiky haired alien strolled on in. A small hand flattened one of his pig tails as he waved with the other hand,

"Sup hags!"

Purin immediately threw the cleaning towel aside and darted over to the petite alien, throwing her arms around him and nuzzling into his neck and side of his face. Ichigo allowed a genuine smile to appear on her face, the monkey mew really did love Tart. The two of them were a great pair, and it was easy to see they were perfect for one another. Seeing them together made her think back to Kish and Pai. The green haired alien had so desperately wanted to be hers, he was overwhelmingly in love with her, and it was almost suffocating. It was tedious to quell his pushy desires and make him understand she couldn't just change the way she felt- can't force love. A chill ran up her spine when she thought back to Pai and the story he had told her about his former lover.

Brown eyes fell back to the floor she was sweeping and she continued working, thinking about how hurt Pai must have been. She then tried to imagine what it would be like to be in a relationship with someone like Pai. He was so distant and it was like pulling teeth to get him to open up, but he would probably be a loyal person. He seemed genuine and like he would look at relationships logically, he would be fair to his girlfriend. He simply needed someone to be as dedicated as he was to a relationship- because clearly commitment wasn't the problem for him.

A shrill giggle from Purin made Ichigo perk up and glance back to the young duo to her right. Purin squeezed the young alien and thanked him profusely,

"Oooh Thank you Taru-Taru! We can grab my things and I'll be ready, just five minutes I promise na no da!"

The red head stared at the two of them as the blonde turned to speak to her,

"Guess who gets to go stay on the alien ship in space Na no da!"

The young girl was so thrilled to get to stay on the aliens ship, Ichigo chuckled,

"You really are excited huh?"

Purin squealed and took off running for the locker room to grab her things. Tart forced a sigh like he was frustrated, still trying to pretend he wasn't as crazy about Purin as she was about him. Without thinking, Ichigo sparked conversation with the young alien,

"How are Pai and Kish doing?"

Tart seemed suspicious of her question, like she was trapping him. He thought for a moment and looked away from her,

"They're fine I guess…Why?"

"I was just asking. I hope they're doing all right. I know Pai stays up there alone, I hope he is doing well. I actually enjoyed getting to know him a bit."

The red head had a warm smile on her face, with an expression like she was reminiscing about the conversation with Pai. Tart glanced back and read her expression, it piqued his curiosity. But before he could open his mouth to respond, Purin came flying down the stairs, giggling like a child and ran over to him, hollering about how she was ready to go. Tart took one last glance at Ichigo as she waved goodbye to them and returned to her work, and he then teleported them to the ship.

…

Lanky fingers clicked across the dimly lit keyboard, dark eyes scanned the rapidly changing computer screen. Tiny footsteps slowly approached him from behind, he didn't even turn to look.

"Tch! You are a hermit I swear."

The scoff came from Tart as he walked up beside the eldest alien, he got no response. Pai continued typing in silence as the young alien stood beside him, moving around like he couldn't get comfortable.

"You know, Ichigo asked about you while I was on Earth…"

Still nothing. Pai didn't react at all to his statement, a huff escaped the younger alien's mouth. He was hoping to elicit some type of response,

"Uh, hello? A girl is asking about you… I think it's weird."

Pai exhaled slowly, finally considering what Tart was saying.

"You want me to ask what she said then?"

"Well you could say something, I don't know why she'd even ask about you. You took care of her once, big deal."

Deep grey eyes glanced over to the brown haired alien,

"I'll bite. What did she say?"

A cocky smirk became plastered on Tart's small features,

"She just said she was hoping you were doing okay and that she really liked getting to know you… She wants to see you. Dumb hag doesn't know how big of a pain in the ass you are. Ha!"

Pai didn't respond, he slowly looked back to the computer screen, unintentionally allowing his words to sink in. With a turn on his heel, the obnoxious alien made his exit. With a deep breath, the tall alien continued typing, he couldn't help but wonder why she would wonder about his well being. On top of that, she wanted to see him again, for what- he wasn't sure. Their conversation came back to mind, how he had opened up to her, and how she genuinely wanted to know about his past. How long had it been since he opened up to someone? He couldn't remember. Feelings weren't something he was fond of, they just caused anguish and tore family and friends apart.

…

The roar of rain fell outside, it was deafening as it slammed down on the rooftop.

"What a way to spend a weekend…"

Ichigo grumbled as she pulled the blanket over her waist, gazing out the window. A girl sitting to her side looked in the same direction,

"It's kind of peaceful though… but some sunshine would be nice."

Ichigo silently nodded back to the aquatic mew, her friend was a very positive person. As Lettuce turned to speak again, a rapid knock at the front door interrupted them both. The girls' heads whipped in the direction of the front door, Lettuce immediately muted the movie on the TV as the cat girl popped up and trotted over to the door. After peeking through the peep hole and seeing nothing, Ichigo opened the door and the wind immediately blew some rain back onto her. She raised a hand to protect her face as she looked around, seeing no one.

Her eyes fell to the doorstep, and she saw a sad looking bouquet of white lilies drowning on the front doormat. Quickly she leaned down and yanked them up, and retreated to the the foyer, closing the door quickly behind her. Ichigo's eyes were locked on the wet bouquet as she wiped her cheek with the shoulder of her shirt. The green haired mew delicately made her way into the foyer and almost gasped at the sight,

"Who are they from?"

The red head fumbled to find words, and she twisted the bouquet around, water droplets fell off to the floor as she did so. Then she noticed the small tag on the bottom, a soggy note was attached to it. She yanked off the little note and read it aloud,

"I just want to talk… Wednesday after you work? Please."

For a moment she felt a warm excitement rise up in her, then a chill took away the excitement,

"It's Kish."

Lettuce blinked silently, watching her friend struggle with the thought of talking to the lusty alien. It was quiet for a moment, Ichigo was clearly letting the information sink in- staring at the note quietly.

The flowers then fell to the floor, and Ichigo stepped over them without a word. Lettuce covered her mouth in surprise and glanced back and forth between her friend and the grounded bouquet. The cat girl strode back into the living room and plopped down on the sofa, pulling the blanket up over her again,

"Lets keep watching the movie."

The hesitant friend picked up the flowers and then followed her into the living room, looking at Ichigo pleadingly.

"Kish brought you these?"

"Guess so."

"Are you going to talk to him?"

The question seemed to irritate Ichigo, and she shot a frustrated look at her friend as she responded,

"After what he did? I'm over it. I'm not mad, I just feel sorry for him."

Lettuce walked over and sat down beside her friend, still holding the flowers,

"But he clearly wants to make amends…"

The red head huffed and shifted around on the sofa, shaking her head,

"I don't care what he wants. He is just going to beg me to be his, and I'll say no, and he'll get mad and hurt and threaten me with something. I'm so tired of it."

"Maybe-" Lettuce stared down at the flowers, thinking of how romantic it was that he would make such a grand gesture to her friend, "-He just wants to make up for it. You should at least talk to him."

There was silence between them, and Lettuce felt a twinge of jealousy enter her heart. It immediately made her feel guilty. She shouldn't feel this way, this was her friend, she shouldn't be envious that so many men pursued her. Ryou had always had a thing for Ichigo, Keiichiro flirted with her from time to time, Kish was madly in love with her, an Masaya had been a great boyfriend to her.. and she was mad that a guy sent her flowers to make up for his mistakes. It made her stomach turn, but she also felt guilt for even feeling negatively about her friend. Ichigo deserved the attention.

…

The rain had finally subsided, and the cafe was slow. There were only two tables to be served, Zakuro and Purin weren't there today, and it was still just painfully slow for the three remaining girls. And although the rain had subsided, the threat of ominous weather rumbled outside.

Mint scoffed as she was forced to get up to greet the next guest coming in the door. The person was alone, and had a dark hood over his head, it made a chill run up her spine. The bird mew felt a relief when the hood came off and realized it was just Kish,

"What the hell are you doing walking in all dark and scary? Jeez."

The alien kept the hood up just up over his ears, he looked pitiful. He had rings under his eyes and had a look of dejection,

"Can Ichigo come outside for a bit? I wanted to talk to her."

Mint tilted her head, giving him a snarky look. She turned back over her shoulder and made eye contact with a less than impressed leader. The redhead handed her table off to Lettuce and made her way through the sparsely populated cafe to the front doors. She brushed passed Kish without even looking at him, and walked out front. The alien gave the blue haired girl a nod to thank her and turned and followed suit.

Once outside, Kish immediately felt like he was under interrogation. The girl had her arms folded across her chest and was glaring at him,

"Well? What do you have to say? The flowers were cutesy but that's not going to make me just forget everything that happened."

He looked bashful and ashamed, he struggled to keep eye contact with her,

"I know that Ichigo… I really am sorry for everything. But I'm not here to beg forgiveness, that's up to you to give me. I-"

He hesitated, looking back down at the ground, he was looking for the right words in the cobblestones. The girl impatiently stared holes though him. Kish took a breath and looked back up to her,

"I want us to start over."

The words took a moment to sink in, her gaze became somewhat blank. There was a suffocating silence between them, it made the alien's stomach twist into a hard knot. He felt hot, like he was standing too close to the sun, he was getting burned from the inside out.

Her words were more hushed, her firmness subsided slightly,

"Start over how?"

"I just want us to start over with a friendship. I'm going to do my best to back away some, and I just want to maybe spent some time with you as friends."

This was the most mature she had ever seen him. It was shocking, but also a wonderful change of pace. She slowly nodded,

"I.. think that could work. Starting over would do us some good."

His face lit up slightly from the dismal expression he wore, the corners of his mouth lifted to a tiny smile. She could tell it was bitter sweet for him. He still wanted her, but he was trying so hard to let it go. Ichigo swallowed and put her hands in her pockets, keeping her eyes locked on his face.

"I still don't trust you though."

"I know. I'm going to work on that."

…

MewMid: Hope this was decent for an update, I try and write when I'm not at the academy- hope all you readers are well!

R and R! :)


	5. Tenderness

MewMid: I'm alive! Working on stories again! I missed it.

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It was nice to have made some peace with Kish, although there was no trust to be had from her end. The redhead strode quietly, still deep in thought about the conversation she had with Kish earlier that day. The storm had cleared up for a while, but was now back, looming over the city like a bad omen. She took a deep breath of the warm humid evening air, she was almost home.

As she rounded the corner and approached her house, something was off. There was someone tall standing outside the front door, an alien.

A lighthearted smile appeared on her face when she realized who it was, a familiar tall alien knocked gently on her door. He must have heard her footsteps because he turned and looked right at her as she walked up through the yard, smiling at him.

"What are you doing here?"

Pai suddenly felt very awkward, he wasn't sure what had possessed him to come down here. After Tart had told him that she wanted to see him again, he felt obliged to come see her. But now that he was here, he wasn't sure how to put it.

"Tart told me you wanted to see me."

Ichigo felt a flutter in her stomach, Tart must have over-interpreted what she said when she asked about them. However, she couldn't help but be thrilled to see the purple haired alien. Her smile widened and she motioned towards the door behind him,

"I'm glad you came down. Come inside?"

He nodded, her happy reaction made him feel a little better about suddenly appearing here to see her. He followed quietly as she led him into the home and dropped her bag in the foyer. Pai felt awkward being in her home, still uncertain of what he really was doing here.

"Make yourself comfortable, couch is over there."

The alien made his way into the living room, observing his surroundings and how humans arranged their homes. It seemed fairly similar to how his people arranged their living quarters. He gingerly made his way over and sat on the couch. Within a few moments, he was joined by the lead mew. She seemed peppy still,

"So you'll never guess who came to see me today."

"Kish."

She made an inaudible sound and then huffed, her eyebrows furrowed together as she spoke,

"How'd you know?"

"Since he was not on our ship today, and you are of high importance to him, and you deemed it necessary to bring it to my attention, it was the logical choice."

A chuckle escaped the girls lips and she looked away, remembering her conversation with Kish earlier.

"Yeah, he came to ask me if we could start over."

Pai seemed slightly interested in the idea,

"How do you feel about such a thing?"

Ichigo seemed surprised, he suddenly regarded her feelings as important? It was a pleasant surprise, maybe this cold alien was warming up a bit. She took a deep breath and looked back over at him as she explained,

"I'm happy he's realized that we aren't going to happen, and that being friends is important before any type of relationship can blossom."

The word relationship made her look away, the prospect of having a relationship with Kish didn't seem possible. Not after what happened. The grey eyed alien looked towards the window as rain drops began to decorate the glass. He wasn't sure what to say to that, since he wasn't really the type to go out and make friends with lots of people. Ichigo felt uncomfortable with the lack of response from the alien and piped up once again,

"I consider us friends Pai… if that means anything to you."

The sudden tenderness in her voice made him look back to her kind eyes. They stared at each other for a few moments while the alien let her words sink in. Friends? The only friends he had were back on his home planet, not that he had many, nor had he seen the ones he did have in a long while. He sat more upright and slightly nodded to the girl, but not revealing any emotion on his face,

"It does."

A huge grin appeared on the cat girl's face and she reached out, nudging him playfully,

"See? Look at us bonding."

A sickeningly adorable giggle followed her words as she leaned back completely on the couch. He sat straight up still, barely taking up half the seating area because he was seated so close to the edge of the couch. Ichigo eyed the stiff being beside her, she suddenly felt rather frisky, for lack of a better word. The cat part of her DNA made her want to toy with him suddenly, because he was so stuffy and distant. She also felt curious about his personal life, and what type of kisser he was.

The thought made her heart skip a beat, why would she think such ludicrous a thing? How Pai kissed? She had already been kissed by Kish, he was rough and pushy. But this alien in front of her was calculating and decisive in his movements, she imagined that he made his moves on a woman cautiously and played it like a chess game.

What an interesting prospect.

"When was the last time you kissed a girl?"

The question caught him completely off guard, and he looked back to her with an almost surprised expression. He shifted slightly, clearly perturbed by the sudden question. The cat girl realized how nosy she was being,

"Sorry! I didn't mean to be nosy or annoying, I was just curious."

"I suppose it's been about a year."

The girl leaned straight up, and looked at him in shock. He furrowed his brows together; confused by her response.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Ichigo sighed and shook her head,

"That's no good, it's such a nice thing… a nice feeling I mean."

Pai thought back on his experiences, he did enjoy the touch of a female. Females' skin is softer and so warm to the touch, he pressed his lips together as he got lost in thought.

His sudden silence made her nudge him again,

"You don't miss it?"

Narrow grey eyes gazed back up to meet her questioning stare, he did miss it. He tenderly reached out with his left hand and grazed her right cheek with his fingertips, feeling the warm flesh gave him a chill.

"I do."

The cat girl didn't dare move, it was this tenderness that only she had seen that drew her to him. Pai was so strong and she was used to how distant and untouchable he was. And here he was, touching her face in a surprisingly delicate way. It reminded her of when he took care of her after the incident with Kish.

She was frozen in place, and the touch slowly disappeared. Pai mentally kicked himself and looked away from her, showing a rare emotion that resembled embarrassment,

"I apologize. That was inappropriate of me to-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the girl grabbed his shoulder and turned his upper body to face her. Their eyes met again as the mew closed the distance between them and shocked the alien when she pressed her lips against his. His eyes were wide open for a second, but the contact was electric. His body temperature immediately rose and he melded his lips into hers, savoring the warm gesture. Her hands were now supporting her upper body and his hands found the sides of her jaw. His long fingers reached all the way to the sides of her head in her fiery hair, and he urged her forward towards him.

Ichigo gasped when her weight shifted forward and the alien grabbed her shoulders, pulling her to lay on top of him. Her face immediately flushed red and she shook her head,

"Oh god I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Pai's gaze was different now, and it made her really look into him. His expression was like nothing she had seen before, it was soft and longing. The girl relaxed somewhat and lowered her head down onto his chest, using his large pectoral muscles as a pillow. His heart was racing in his chest, and it made a smile creep up onto her lips. The blush felt like it was burning her cheeks she was so embarrassed that she had done that.

But he felt so relaxed under her, this was a side of him she had never seen. It was like a secret, and it belonged to her. This tender moment was something entirely new and exciting, never had she imagined she'd be laying on her couch with Pai- the alien that had nearly killed her and her team on multiple occasions.

Her lips tingled as she thought about the kiss, her left hand lifted and she touched her fingers to her lips. The alien breathed slowly under her, he felt so relaxed. He hadn't been intimately close to someone in so long, he had almost forgotten how wonderful it felt to hold another being so close.

…

Pai had planted another kiss on her head before leaving, but she was half asleep by that point and barely remembered the kind gesture. And at the cafe the next day, Ichigo could hardly contain herself as she worked. The thought of her planting a big kiss on that dark and ominous alien made her giggle in excitement. No one would ever have expected it, and that was half the excitement.

By lunchtime, Ichigo seriously could not contain her secret and felt obligated to tell someone. Someone she could trust. Lettuce.

The green haired mew had a look of concern as her leader pulled her into the hall between the main seating area and the kitchen.

"What is it?!"

The spectacled mew exclaimed, looking worriedly at her dear friend. The grin on the cat girl's face was so wide as she giggled,

"I kissed Pai last night!"

The words didn't seem to register with Lettuce, she blinked a few times and craned her head closer, staring intently,

"What?"

"I kissed him! Pai stopped by to see me because Tart told him I wanted to see him, and we were just sitting on my couch… and I just kissed him. I don't know why, but I really wanted to. And it was amazing!"

The aquatic mew blinked some more and took a deep breath, she smiled kindly at her friend,

"I'm happy for you Ichigo! Forgive me, but it seems so unusual. I never would have imagined-"

"You can't tell anyone!"

Ichigo snapped, interrupting the girl. Lettuce immediately nodded and reassured her that she wouldn't say a word. But just as she said those words, a certain blond haired mew hopped out from around the corner with a huge toothy grin on her face. Ichigo huffed and shook her head at the young mew,

"Not now Purin! I am talking to Lettuce!"

"I heard what you said na no da!"

A lighthearted giggle followed her words and Ichigo groaned, not wanting the loudmouthed girl to know what had happened. Lettuce wasn't sure what to do and looked at Ichigo in surprise, unsure of what she could say to remedy the situation. The lead mew pointed at the smallest girl and tried to be serious through her excitement,

"Don't tell anyone."

…

"So I heard you kissed Ichigo."

The eldest alien paused where stood at the kitchen counter on the alien ship, he was in the middle of making coffee when this intruder interrupted him. A chill ran over Pai's skin as he turned to face the source of the voice. Tart huffed as he hopped up to sit on the counter beside him,

"Did you really? Kish is gonna be pissed if he finds out."

Pai regained his composure and continued what he was doing,

"I did, and if Kish has a problem he's welcome to bring it to my attention."

The steely response didn't satisfy the young alien's curiosity.

"Why'd you do it? No way she likes a weirdo like you."

The tall alien seemed calm and unfazed by the insult,

"Although it isn't any of your business or concern, she kissed me Tart. So I can't answer that question."

The brown haired alien seemed taken aback by the statement, he was quiet for a few moments as the human's coffee maker rumbled. Pai looked over at him; only to be met with a confused stare.

"She did? That's so weird."

"You finished?"

Tart scoffed and crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at him,

"Kish is gonna lose his mind if he finds out. Especially after the 'lets be friends' talk he and that hag had."

The older alien leaned against the countertop, reminiscing about the run in with Ichigo last night. It was certainly odd, and would most likely result in some tension with his adoptive brother Kish if he did find out. The silence bothered the small alien beside him,

"I never would have seen that coming. Sheesh!"

As Tart hopped up, Pai couldn't help but mutter to himself,

"Neither did I."

…

A certain green haired alien ruffled his hair dry with a towel as he walked out of the bathroom into his bedroom. His room door was open and a small brown haired alien floated just inside the doorway.

"Thanks for knocking."

Kish spat as he walked over to pull a shirt out to go with the brown shorts he was wearing. The young alien scoffed,

"I was just seeing what you were up to."

"You must be bored."

Tart rolled his eyes, he always had some kind of snarky response.

"Yeah whatever, I was going to go to Earth today and was seeing if you were going too?"

Kish pulled the shirt over his head and ruffled his hair again, trying to get it to dry. Tart's question seemed odd for some reason, but he shrugged off the feeling.

"Yeah i think I'm going down to the cafe. Why?"

[][][][][][][][][][]

MewMid: Ooooh Angst! Will Tart tell him?


End file.
